Alien Breed VHF Format
| Format type | Image |
|---|---|
| Hardware | VGA |
| Colour depth | 8-bit |
| Minimum size (pixels) | 320×200 |
| Maximum size (pixels) | 320×200 |
| Palette | Internal |
| Plane count | 1 |
| Transparent pixels? | No |
| Hitmap pixels? | No |
| Games |
There are 14 compressed graphics files, including the title, logos, interface, and ending artwork. Every file begins with 00 FD 00 00: a little-endian output length of 64,768. This is a length field, not a unique format signature.
File format
| File offset | Length | Content |
|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | 4 | Unsigned little-endian decoded length, 64,768 |
| 0x04 | Rest of file | LZHUF stream |
The decoded layout is identical to .256: 64,000 row-major pixels at 320×200, followed by 768 bytes of RGB palette data. All 14 decoded palettes have components no greater than 63. Visual inspection of TITLE.VHF and COMPUTER.VHF confirmed the row order and palette placement; interpreting the bytes as a sequence of small tiles scrambled the images.
All 14 files decoded to their declared length, consuming the compressed file through its final byte (allowing unused bits in that byte). The codec parameters follow the classic LZHUF implementation; the bitmap interpretation follows VGA addressing and the local render results.
Notes
Apply LZHUF to the bytes after the four-byte length, then parse the decoded bitmap. Feeding the compressed file directly to an image viewer will not work. Do not use the Amiga Imploder decoder or a Tower Assault EPF reader for these files.
This page describes the stored image. Exact screen placement, clipping, transitions, and font glyph boundaries still require examination of the game's graphics routines.
Files
Paths are relative to game/.
| File | Stored bytes |
|---|---|
| AB_END1.VHF | 35,531 |
| AB_END2.VHF | 21,725 |
| AL_LOGO.VHF | 8,284 |
| ARMDISPL.VHF | 3,982 |
| AVM256.VHF | 13,045 |
| CARGOBAY.VHF | 23,748 |
| COMPUTER.VHF | 16,756 |
| DECKLIFT.VHF | 14,578 |
| FONT.VHF | 2,319 |
| GAMEOVER.VHF | 18,093 |
| MOONPIC.VHF | 10,382 |
| PANEL.VHF | 3,130 |
| TEAM_17.VHF | 20,933 |
| TITLE.VHF | 5,935 |
Source code
From re-alienbreed, the open-source browser port and asset viewer:
Credits
The Alien Breed-specific format research and parsers were prepared by VorticonCmdr. If you find this information helpful in a project you're working on, please give credit where credit is due. (A link back to this wiki would be nice too!)